Straddle-form ski lift

ABSTRACT

A ski lift for moving skiiers up a hill comprises a conveyor belt on which the skiiers are seated in straddle-fashion with their skiis sliding along in fixed tracks. The lift arrangement is supported on a truss frame which is supported from the hill by low posts spaced along its length. The skiiers are kept close to the ground and little effort on the part of the skiier is required to use the lift.

[ Jan. 21, 1975 United States Patent 1191 Ling [ STRADDLE-FORM SKI LIFT3,602,361 8/1971 Cheronis...,...1................ 104/173 51 [76]Inventor: Robin Ling, RJF'DI, campton 3 310427 5/1974 104/173 PrimaryExaminer-Drayton E. Hoffman Attorney Agent, or Firm-Jerry Cohen; CharlesHickcn 122 Filed: Sept. 27, 1971 Appl. No.: 183,783

[57] ABSTRACT A ski lift for moving skiiers up a hill comprises aconveyor belt on which the skiiers are seated in straddlefashion withtheir skiis sliding along in fixed tracks. The lift arrangement issupported on a truss frame which is supported from the hill by low postsspaced [52] U.S. 198/16 R, 104/25, -104/173 [51] Int. Cl..... B61b11/00, B66b 9/12, 865g 17/00 [58] Field of Search.......... 104/173 ST,173 R, 165,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS along its length. Theskiiers are kept close to the ground and little effort on the part ofthe skiier is required to use the lift.

2,195,371 3/1940 Moore 198/165 3,096,725 198/181 3 349,720 Pender104/173 ST 10 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures FM'ENTEU I975 SHEET 1 [IF 3 1STRADDLE-FORM SKI. LIFT BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Ski lifts aredivided into two basic groups. These are ground-level (or on-grade)systems and suspended systerns. The ground-level systems are the rope orcable tow, J-Bar, T-Bar, and Poma lift. All ground level types requirethe skiier to hold fast to the line, either directly as in the rope tow,or by means of curved pipe, pipe and wood handles or round discs. Theskiier must steer in existing tracks in the snow and considerableagility is required when on-loading and off-loading from these types oflift. All ground level systems are fatiguing to the skiier.

The suspended systems employ chairs, enclosed capsules or portions ofboth and suspend same from overhead cable at heights as low as 2 feet aton-loading and off-loading points to heights of 200 feet enroute.Intermittent loading problems plus the ever present danger of cablebreaking or stalling enroute provide a low safety factor.

Occasional other types are in use such as the skimobile at MountCranmore in North Conway, New Hampshire. In that design individual carsare pulled up an incline track with .each car fastened to the cable. Asin other suspended systems, safety is tied to the cable itself with noeasy egress for passengers in the event of cable failure. I

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION .It is a principal object of the invention toprovide a new form of safe,-economical, high capacity ski lift,

avoiding the pitfalls of the prior art devices.

' Specifically, it is a principal object of the invention to provide areliablehigh capacity ski lift.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a ground level skilift consistent with the foregoing objects.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a long length skilift consistent with the foregoing objects.

It is a further object of the invention to provide aski lift of highsafety facto'r'consistent with the foregoing objects. v I

It is a further' object of the invention to provide a ski lift affordinglo'w capital and maintenance costs consistent with the foregoingobjects.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF THE-INVENTION According to the present invention,a ski lift is provided in the form of a conveyor which accommodatesskiiers sitting astride it. The conveyor runs close to the. ground sothat the seated skiiers can stand down or step off in case of a stop andso that skiiers are not exposed to wind chill as is common withsuspended systems. The skiier is seated requiring little effort and lesschance of accidental falling.

The skiier comes down a low starting ramp to get on the conveyor, sitsdown and rides along the conveyor belt until it reaches the top of thebelt run where the skiier meets a local unloading ramp and moves off outof the way. No intermittent loading problem is encounted. Trafficonloads and offloads in-line with the conveyor and no side-stepping isrequired.

Very high capacities of skiiers can be handled with the apparatus of theinvention.

The belt in a preferred, and distinctly advantageous, I

embodiment of the invention hasthc form of a single up-hill run and areturn. Preferably the return is superposed under the up-hill run in alower portion of a supporting frame. The up-hill run of the belt issupported on a supporting assembly comprising a stiff supporting framewhich is contained within the transverse dimension of the belt so that askiier straddling the belt also straddles the supporting frame which isenveloped so that there is no interference between the frame and theskiier. Tracks are provided in the frame parallel to and l3 feet belowthe belt and covered with synthetic low friction mats to accommodate theskiis with low friction rather than relying on the naturally piled snowfor this purpose. The sitting position and lack of need for the skiierto define the path makes it easy for him to keep his skiis straight,thereby avoiding the common pitfall of poma lifts, T and J-Bars, andrope tows in this respect. I

The supporting frame is supported from the hill by a longitudinal seriesof ground supports (posts) arranged along the length atsufficientintervals to stiffen the open truss-work frame and avoidsagging or breakage due to overload. End rollers are provided for the.belt at the top and bottom of the lift and intermediate slide rollersare spaced along the lift length to support the belt. The slide rollersare sized and spaced to avoid bumpiness of the ride. Tension of the beltis adjustable.

via movement ofone ofthe end rollers.

The lift moves at a speed of preferrably, 6 feet per second and carriesskiiers at a recommended distance of ten feet apart. With full usagethis would accommodate 1,800 skiiers per hour (compared to 1,200 skiiersaccommodated by a double chair-lift moving at 9 feet per second in the60.foot spacing between chairs). In

the lift of the present inventiona higher percentage of potentialcapacity. will be used because of the avoidance of side-stepping andcloser spacing in on-loading.

An important aspect of the lift system of the invention is that it canbe left in-place year round and does not require a complete dismantling.Another important aspect of maintenance is that the system is close tothe ground and'accessible without the need for ladders,

cranes or the like. The system is covered with a sheet of plastic andthe belt tension is released. Except for In setting thelift system ofthe invention into a ski I area, a lane of as little as 14 to 18 feet iscleared through the woods. In contrast, much wider clearances arerequired of aerial cable systems to avoid a falling l trees snapping thecable. In the ski lift of the present invention, a falling treesbreaking the belt will not cause a catastrophe to all skiiers on thebelt (except,

possibly one skiier under the tree). The broken belt will stop andskiiers can dismount easily.

. The narrow lane gives protection of the surrounding woods to skiierson the lift and in case of prolonged stoppage dismounting or rescue canbe quicker and easier than it was with prior art cable systems.

The above stated advantages of safety also accrue to rope tows and someother ground level systems, but the present invention combines thesafety features of ground level systems with higher capacity, speed andgreater feasible lift length.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention (in addition tothose described here) will be apparent from the foregoing generaldescription and the following specific description, which is to be readin connection with the accompanying drawings, now briefly characterized.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a side view of a ski liftconveyor made according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the same apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an isometric sketch of a small portion of the same apparatus,partly sectioned.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a detail from FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an isometric sketch of the belt tension and left angle controlmeans of the FIG. 1 apparatus.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are end and side views, respectively, both partlysectioned of an intermediate section of the FIG. 1 apparatus showingsupport means.

FIGS. 8 and 8A are side views of two further embodiments of theinvention, illustrating only portions as necessary to show distinctionsfrom the FIG. 1 embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Referring to.FIG. 1, there is shown a side view of a ski lift made according to apreferred embodiment of the invention. The ski lift conveyor 1 comprisesa modified conveyor belt of 612 inches width (preferably 8 inches) withan up-hill run 11 moving as shown by arrow U and a return down-hill run12 moving as shown by arrow D, the belt being of endless, continuousform. The support comprises a stiff supporting frame 60 and rollers 20and 30 at the longitudinal ends of the belt run and additional sliderollers (not shown in FIG. 1) along its course for allowing beltsliding. Either or both of end rollers 20 or 30 may be driven.Preferably, the upper roller 30 is driven by a motor (not shown) via avariable speed drive typically, a 20 horsepower electric motor willdrive roller 20 via a variable speed (e.g., Link-Belt P.V.I.) geardriveto move a 2,000 foot lift, with skiiers feet apart, at 5 feet persecond. The lower roller is an idler. A tensioning 'device 40 is shownat the lower end of the belt and described in detail in connection withFIG. 5 below. The conveyor is arranged above the terrain or grade lineTL of the slope at a distance greater than the mean average snow levelSL for the specific location and preferably less than-five feet. Anotherconstraint on height of the lift is that the lift should preferably bestraight and of constant slope despite natural variations of the gradeline and that it should bridge over gulleys or deliberately formedskitrail cross-overs. Where the mountain has portions of distinctlydifferent slopes which are to be ascended, a

plurality of lifts can be used with each lift set to the re gionsdifferent slopes.

The maximum slope which would be attempted with the lift is thirtydegrees. Most lower mountain areas afford an average slope access ofabout 16, particularly adjacent or on the novice and intermediatetrails. Where a slope greater than 30 is to be ascended, multiple liftscan be provided at lower angulations in a zigzag or dog-leg arrangement.The direct-on, direct-off, on-loading and off-loading arrangements ofeach lift in the array with possibly no stops for the skiiers eliminatesthe likelihood that any transfer points will be a bottle-neck. Afoundation housing 50 is provided for the lower roller 20 and afoundation 60 is provided for the upper roller 30.

Ground supports are provided along the length of the conveyor run at 20foot intervals along the longitudinal length ofthe conveyor to stiffenthe frame 60. It can be seen in FIG. 1 that the skiiers approach thelift by the way of a snow-covered on-loading ramp LR and ski directlyonto the lift in an inline path without sidestepping. The skiier sitsdown on the lift conveyor and rides it to the top of its run. At the topof the ski lift the skiier stands up and skis off on a snow-coveredoff-load or dismounting ramp DR. Referring still to FIG. 1, a track 61is shown and referring to FIG. 2 it can be seen that there are two suchtracks 61, 62 on opposite sides of the straddle lift. The tracks arefixed and do not move with the belt. Therefore the skiier who comes onthe lift and leans onto the belt or sits on it is towed up the hill withhisskiis gliding on, and with longitudinal movement relative to, thefixed tracks 61, 62.

FIG. 3 is an isometric view of a portion of the ski lift showing some ofthe components in greater detail. The lift conveyor belt assemblyincludes a rubber conveyor belt 101, which, per se, is of the typecommonly used in industrial conveyor applications (for example,Goodyears Plylon brand model belt'which is rated for 20 ton tear for an8 inch belt). Adhered to the belt is a thick belt-form cushion 102 offlexible polyurethane foam of the type which has 1 inch compression perlb/sq. ft. loading. The belt assembly 10 is supported from the frame 60through end rollers intermediate slide rollers 69. Rollers 69 are spacedat intervals of 12 inches on center to provide a comfortable ride. Therollers 69 are 2 inch diameter spools. The width of the belt 101 and ofcushion 102 is preferably 8 inches and the belt assembly widthessentially subtends its supporting rollers 69.

The supporting frame 60 for the belt comprises a steel or wood trusswhich may be a conventional Pratt roof truss using legs 64 (angle irons,poles or channels, etc.) sheathed in a steel or marine-grade plywoodhousing 63 to guard against entanglement of any skiier paraphenalia withthe frame. The frame is subtended by the belt to leave both sides clearfor the skiiers legs and skis. Each of the tracks has a bottom portion(611 and 621) and side portions 621 and 622 defining guards for tracks61, 62 to prevent the ski from slipping out from the track. The bottomportions 611, 621 have square holes preferably 4 inches by 4 inches andare overlayed with a low friction matting 613, 623 which may beartificial grass such as Monsantos Astroturf brand artificial grass. Thematting is sprayed with a silicone anti-sticking agent, or the like, tomake it very slippery. The mat should have holes punched through of asmaller area than the holes in the bottom plates 611, 621 of the tracks.The holes in thecmatting are preferably 2 inch diameter circular holesspaced at a distance of 4 inches on centers in a staggered array. Theholes in the mat and in the channel allow snow (from falling snow, snowaccumulation and from skiis and skiiers) to easily move through so thatit does not pile up in the tracks.

Referring back to FIGS. 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, some safety features of theapparatus are shown.

FIG. 1 shows a guide 49 which is used to protect the skiier from puttinga ski directly on the belt; it is a side view of such a guide. The guidehas an essentially frustoconical form with flattened sides. A top viewof the guide 49 is shown in FIG. 2. I

The several rollers 69 (FIG. 3) can be utilized for braking purposes incase ofa break of the belt 10. Several of the rollers 69 at spacedintervals (though not necessarily all the rollers) are equipped withratchet brakes (not shown). In normal running the brake is overdriven.In case of a break of the belt, the ratchet brakes are engaged by theuphill run 11 portion of the belt below the break running backwards.Skiiers can then backslide or go forward in tracks 61 or 62 or in mostinstances step off the lift and ski down the mountam.

In case of a stop other than belt breaking, the braking job can also bedone through rollers 20 or 30 or the motor drive of belt 20 where theprincipal brake system is integral with the drive motor.

FIG. 4 shows a safety device at the top end of the lift. The device is aswitch 51 running very close to the belt assembly as it passes overroller 30. The switch is in the power curcuit for the motor which drivesthe belt. If any article of the skiiers clothing or boots, skiis orpoles falls beyond the dismounting ramp, DR, it will trip the switch.The switch is opened, the motor stops.-

The belt stops.

FIG. 5 shows the tensioning device 40 which supports roller 20. Theprincipal elements of this supporting and tensioning device 40 are awheel supporting frame 41, which is mounted to the foundation housing 50via a pivotal connection 42. The frame has two sled tracks 43 whichcarry a wheel sled 44. The wheel is mounted on axle 45 which is mountedon the sled. A threaded ro'd'41 extends from the wheel sled through asupport frame 46 and a tensioning wheel 411 is mounted on the rod andconstructed and arranged to cause translating movement of the rod 41,hence of the sled 44, when thewheel is turned. This leadscrew typearrangement allows the wheel sled to be moved back or forth as indicatedby the arrow M to adjust the tension of the belt.

In setting up the lift the wheel supporting frame 41 is pivoted aboutthe connection 42 until the belt has a desired angulation andstraight-line alignment up the hill. Then additional braces 421, securedto foundation 50, are added to fix the angular orientation of the frame.

This tensioning device avoids the pitfall of the conventional techniquefor tensioning which is based on a 102. The belt assembly is riding onclosely spaced rollers-69 in the uphill run and on less closely spacedrollers 69D on the down-hill run. The section view(s) of FIG. 6 is takenlooking up-hill; so track 61 (including bottom 611, side 612 and mat613) is to the right and track 62 (including similar components) is tothe left. The spaced frame supports 70 each include a post 71 and a beamsecured to the post by bolts 73. Side beams 741, 742 are mounted on thehorizontal beam 72 and support (a) the frame 64 via bridging beams 743and (b) the rollers 69D via axles 69D1. The frame 60 made up of legs 64,is enclosed in sheathing 63 and mounts, at its top surface 68, therollers 69 via axles691 which are supported from side channels 671, 672.

It is seen in FIGS. 6-7 that the cushion seating surface is on. thebottom in return downhill run 12 of the belt assembly and passes overthe slide rollers 69D. This tends to remove snow accumulated on theseat. Yet the cushion is not compressed or abraded by this snow removalprocess.

FIG. 8 shows a second species of the invention wherein the conveyor issubdivided (for such purposes as allowing an intermediate exit and/oraccommodating a slope change). A common belt 10 is used. The uphill run11 passes over upper roller 30 and instead of going into downhill run12, goes on to the second uphill run ll-II to a second uphill roller30-II where it turns around into downhill run 12-II and then back tooriginal downhill run 12. The transition is facilitated by intermediatebelt guides and, if desired, belt tension adjusting means can beprovided at the intermediate station 80-II. v

FIG. 8A shows another double lift conveyor with separate belts for eachconveyor and common drive through linking the upper roller of the lowerlift with the lower roller of the upper lift via a chain drive connectedtherebetween.

As between the FlG. 8 and FIG. 8A embodiments, the latter ispreferred-since it, like the FIGS. l7 embodiment, applies tension to thebelt(s per se-(i.e., to the inside of the belt loop assembly) and not tothe outer cushion and limits compression of the cushion essentially tothe loading by seated skiiers thereon on its uphill run.

The support rollers 69 are preferably made of injee- I tion-moldedplastic with blind center holes to accommodate supporting stub shafts691. The stub shafts are mounted in journals which are secured to thesupport rails 671, 672. Preferably, the journals accommodate the shaftsin a shaft trough with felt pads set in the journal mounts over theshafts and soaked with oil to produce the lubrication and yet allowremoval of the spools for easy maintenance.

The rollers have side flanges which provide a centering action to thebelt 10, and therefore, avoid the need for any other kind of side'guides to the belt since the spools are spaced at one foot intervals.

The abovementioned ratchet-braking action can be implemented by puttinggear teeth on the side flanges and using a spring loaded ratchet-key.

OTHER VARIATIONS FROM THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION It isalso possible to make several variations, departures and other methodsof use, compared to the preferred embodiment described above inconnection with FIGS. 1-7 or the additional embodiments described'inconnection with FIGS. 8 or 8A. For instance, a single ski track could beused instead of two ski tracks and the rider could ride side-saddle.This would omit some of the basic advantages of the invention innarrower scope, but would retain some of the advantages described above.Another variation would be the use of spaced cushion sections along theconveyor belt instead of a completely contiguous cushion belt-coveringthe conveyor belt.

Many variations of supporting and belt driving and braking means will beapparent to those skilled in the art once given the benefit of thisdisclosure. It is also feasible to depart from the distinctlyadvantageous preferred embodiment and use a ski lift conveyor withchanges in angulation within the length of the conveyor; but this issubstantially less preferred because of bumpiness induced thereby andpossible safety hazard if the change in angulation is too great. Theconveyor can be convexly curved rather than linear; but concavecurvature is less practical. Other variations would include movabletracks instead of the fixed tracks described above, snow accumulators inthe tracks, and trackless ski lifts with the skiis riding in the air oron the snow covered ground.

It is, therefore, evident that those skilled in the art may makenumerous modifications and uses of and departures from the specificembodiments described above without departing from the inventiveconcepts hereof. Accordingly, it is intended that the invention shall beconstrued as embracing each and every novel features and novelcombination of features present in or possessed by the apparatus hereindescribed and that the foregoing disclosure shall be read asillustrative and not as limiting except to the extent set forth in theclaims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:'

1. Ski lift apparatus for conveying-skiiers up a hill comprising, incombination:

Means forming a conveyor belt sized for straddle seating thereon byskiiers,

Belt support means supporting the belt to provide an uphill run thereof,

Belt driving means for driving the uphill run of the belt in an uphilldirection,

Means for braking the uphill run of the belt against downhill motion,

Ski track defining means forming ski tracks adjacent to and on oppositesides of the belt and constructed and arranged so that the skiier cansit on the belt in saddle fashion while sliding his skiis in the trackson both sides thereof, and

on-load and off-load defining means at respective lower and upper endsof the uphill run of the belt arranged in line with said belt so thatthe skiier can ski directly onto the belt for on-loading and then sitdown and stand up and ski directly off the belt at the top of the uphillrun.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1:

The said belt is of endless loop form and is arranged on said supportingmeans to comprise an uphill run and return downhill run with said uphillrun superposed over saiddownhill run,

The support means being constructed and arranged in combination with thebelt so that drive tension is applied at the underside of the belt asdefined in the uphill run,

The belt having an upper compressible cushioned upper surface as definedin the uphill run of the belt.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein Said supporting meanscomprise a rigid frame structure and A longitudinal series of supportsspaced along the uphill run of the belt and supporting said frame atintervals effective to stiffen the frame and prevent sagging or overloadvunerabili ty thereof,

A longitudinal series of rollers mounted on said frame and spaced therealong,

The uphill run of the belt being mounted on said series of rollers androllers being spaced at intervals effective to smooth the uphill ride ofa series of skiiers seated on said belt and avoid bumpiness.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein The support meanscomprise rollers at the top and bottom of the uphill run of the beltwith the belt being turned around said rollers and effectively engagedthereby.

One of said rollers being powered and the other of said rollers beingarranged as a reaction member,

The reaction member roller being mounted in a sup porting frame,

Means forming a roller carrying sled and track means therefor,

The track means being pivotably mounted on and being demouritablysecurable to the said supporting means, and

The said sled being movable along said track means to adjust belttension.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein Said belt supportingmeans comprise Means forming a stiff supporting frame with an uppersurface running the length of the belts uphill run,

Means defining a series of ground supports resting on the hill andconnected to said frame to support the frame so that its upper surfacelies along a plane at a moderate height above the snow level of thesurrounding area and at an angle less than 30 with respect to horizontaland which essentially matches the hill slope,

Said supports being placed longitudinally along the uphill run atintervals effective to stiffen the frame and assure against overloadbreakage,

A series of slide rollers of no greater than 6-inch di-' ameter mountedat less than 2 feet intervals in a longitudinal array along the uphillrun of the belt on said planar surface of the frame and supporting thebelt from the planar surface with the uphill run of the belt slidingover the rollers,

The rollers being essentially the width of the belt and I subtendedthereby and supporting the belt,

6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5 wherein said belt is of endlessloop form and comprises a downhill run with the uphill run superposedover the downhill run,

A second series of rollers mounted from said frame from undersaid firstseries of rollers with the downhill run of the belt being supported atopthe said second series of rollers,

The support means further comprising means forming a shielding surfacesurrounding the support structure in the vicinity of the legs of skiiersseated on the uphill run of the belt.

7. Apparatus in accordance with claim 6 further comprising;

Ski tracks mounted on said frame on opposite sides of said belts,

The support means having an inverted-V form extending from one track upto the belt and down again along the surface protection means to theother track in cross section.

8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 further comprising;

Synthetic friction reducing means mounted in said tracks, and

Means for automatically clearing snow from said tracks.

9. Apparatus in accordance with claim 8 further comprising Side slipguard means on said tracks laterally trapping a ski in each trackbetween the central enveloped support structure and outer guide limits,and

Guide means at the lower end of the belt uphill run forcing a skiier whois on-loading to spread his skiis,

The guide means leading the skiis into the two tracks and causing theskiier to therebystraddle the uphill run of the belt forproper-positioning with respect thereto.

10. Ski lift apparatus for conveying skiiers up a hill comprising, incombination (a) means forming a conveyor belt sized for straddle seatingthereon by skiiers, (b) belt support means supporting the belt toprovide an uphill run thereof, (c) belt driving means for driving theuphill run of the belt in an uphill direction, (d) means for braking theuphill run of the belt against downhill motion, (e) ski track definingmeans and (f) on-load and off-load means wherein:'

a. said conveyor belt is of endless loop form with an uphill runsuperposed over a downhill run and said belt has adhered thereto acorresponding cushion belt of a compressible foam;

b. said belt support means comprise:

bl. a stiff supporting frame with an upper surface running the length ofthe belts uphill run b'2. a series of ground supports resting on thehill and connected to said frame to support the frame so that its uppersurface lies along a plane at a moderate height above the snow level ofthe area and at an angle of less than 30, which essentially the skiiermake any turns or side-stepping maneumatches the hill slope and saidsupports being spaced longitudinally along the uphill run at intervalseffective to stiffen the frame and insure against overload breakage,

b3. a series of slide rollers of no greater than 6- inch diametermounted at less than 2 feet inter vals in a longitudinal array along theuphill run of the belt on said planar surface of the frame andsupporting the belt from the planar surface with the uphill run of thebelt sliding over the rollers, the rollers being essentially the widthof the belt and subtended thereby and supporting the belt,

b'4. envelope means covering the support structure in the vicinity ofthe riding skiiers to prevent interference,

b5. end rollers at the top and bottom of the belt runs with said endlessloop belt passing over said end rollers with the cushion facingoutwardly and means for adjusting the spacing of said end rollers to setbelt tension,

. said drive means comprise variable speed means for driving the top endroller to drive said belt, said means for braking the belt againstdownhill motion of the uphill run comprise ratchet brakes connected to.a multiplicity of said slide rollers, there are two of said tracks onopposite sides of the belt allowing a skiier to straddle the belt whilesitting on it with one ski in each track and they comprise synthetic,low friction mats with sufficient perforation to allow snow and/ordeposited snow accumulation to pass through, to keep the tracks clear ofsnow; and

. said on-load and off-load means comprise an onloading ski run at thebottom of the uphill run of the belt and an off-loading ski run at thetop of the belts up-hill run, both being constructed and arranged sothat life on-loading, riding and lift off-' loading are all accomplishedwithout requiring that vers or stops, the apparatus including guidemeans for guiding the skiier and his skiis into straddle position inon-loading.

1. Ski lift apparatus for conveying skiiers up a hill comprising, incombination: Means forming a conveyor belt sized for straddle seatingthereon by skiiers, Belt support means supporting the belt to provide anuphill run thereof, Belt driving means for driving the uphill run of thebelt in an uphill direction, Means for braking the uphill run of thebelt against downhill motion, Ski track defining means forming skitracks adjacent to and on opposite sides of the belt and constructed andarranged so that the skiier can sit on the belt in saddle fashion whilesliding his skiis in the tracks on both sides thereof, and on-load andoff-load defining means at respective lower and upper ends of the uphillrun of the belt arranged in line with said belt so that the skiier cansKi directly onto the belt for on-loading and then sit down and stand upand ski directly off the belt at the top of the uphill run.
 2. Apparatusin accordance with claim 1: The said belt is of endless loop form and isarranged on said supporting means to comprise an uphill run and returndownhill run with said uphill run superposed over said downhill run, Thesupport means being constructed and arranged in combination with thebelt so that drive tension is applied at the underside of the belt asdefined in the uphill run, The belt having an upper compressiblecushioned upper surface as defined in the uphill run of the belt. 3.Apparatus in accordance with claim 2 wherein Said supporting meanscomprise a rigid frame structure and A longitudinal series of supportsspaced along the uphill run of the belt and supporting said frame atintervals effective to stiffen the frame and prevent sagging or overloadvunerability thereof, A longitudinal series of rollers mounted on saidframe and spaced there along, The uphill run of the belt being mountedon said series of rollers and rollers being spaced at intervalseffective to smooth the uphill ride of a series of skiiers seated onsaid belt and avoid bumpiness.
 4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1wherein The support means comprise rollers at the top and bottom of theuphill run of the belt with the belt being turned around said rollersand effectively engaged thereby. One of said rollers being powered andthe other of said rollers being arranged as a reaction member, Thereaction member roller being mounted in a supporting frame, Meansforming a roller carrying sled and track means therefor, The track meansbeing pivotably mounted on and being demountably securable to the saidsupporting means, and The said sled being movable along said track meansto adjust belt tension.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 whereinSaid belt supporting means comprise Means forming a stiff supportingframe with an upper surface running the length of the belt''s uphillrun, Means defining a series of ground supports resting on the hill andconnected to said frame to support the frame so that its upper surfacelies along a plane at a moderate height above the snow level of thesurrounding area and at an angle less than 30* with respect tohorizontal and which essentially matches the hill slope, Said supportsbeing placed longitudinally along the uphill run at intervals effectiveto stiffen the frame and assure against overload breakage, A series ofslide rollers of no greater than 6-inch diameter mounted at less than 2feet intervals in a longitudinal array along the uphill run of the belton said planar surface of the frame and supporting the belt from theplanar surface with the uphill run of the belt sliding over the rollers,The rollers being essentially the width of the belt and subtendedthereby and supporting the belt,
 6. Apparatus in accordance with claim 5wherein said belt is of endless loop form and comprises a downhill runwith the uphill run superposed over the downhill run, A second series ofrollers mounted from said frame from undersaid first series of rollerswith the downhill run of the belt being supported atop the said secondseries of rollers, The support means further comprising means forming ashielding surface surrounding the support structure in the vicinity ofthe legs of skiiers seated on the uphill run of the belt.
 7. Apparatusin accordance with claim 6 further comprising; Ski tracks mounted onsaid frame on opposite sides of said belts, The support means having aninverted-V form extending from one track up to the belt and down againalong the surface protection means to the other track in cross section.8. Apparatus in accordance with claim 7 further comprising; Syntheticfriction reducing means mounted iN said tracks, and Means forautomatically clearing snow from said tracks.
 9. Apparatus in accordancewith claim 8 further comprising Side slip guard means on said trackslaterally trapping a ski in each track between the central envelopedsupport structure and outer guide limits, and Guide means at the lowerend of the belt uphill run forcing a skiier who is on-loading to spreadhis skiis, The guide means leading the skiis into the two tracks andcausing the skiier to thereby straddle the uphill run of the belt forproper positioning with respect thereto.
 10. Ski lift apparatus forconveying skiiers up a hill comprising, in combination (a) means forminga conveyor belt sized for straddle seating thereon by skiiers, (b) beltsupport means supporting the belt to provide an uphill run thereof, (c)belt driving means for driving the uphill run of the belt in an uphilldirection, (d) means for braking the uphill run of the belt againstdownhill motion, (e) ski track defining means and (f) on-load andoff-load means wherein: a''. said conveyor belt is of endless loop formwith an uphill run superposed over a downhill run and said belt hasadhered thereto a corresponding cushion belt of a compressible foam;b''. said belt support means comprise: b''1. a stiff supporting framewith an upper surface running the length of the belt''s uphill run b''2.a series of ground supports resting on the hill and connected to saidframe to support the frame so that its upper surface lies along a planeat a moderate height above the snow level of the area and at an angle ofless than 30* , which essentially matches the hill slope and saidsupports being spaced longitudinally along the uphill run at intervalseffective to stiffen the frame and insure against overload breakage,b''3. a series of slide rollers of no greater than 6-inch diametermounted at less than 2 feet intervals in a longitudinal array along theuphill run of the belt on said planar surface of the frame andsupporting the belt from the planar surface with the uphill run of thebelt sliding over the rollers, the rollers being essentially the widthof the belt and subtended thereby and supporting the belt, b''4.envelope means covering the support structure in the vicinity of theriding skiiers to prevent interference, b''5. end rollers at the top andbottom of the belt runs with said endless loop belt passing over saidend rollers with the cushion facing outwardly and means for adjustingthe spacing of said end rollers to set belt tension, c''. said drivemeans comprise variable speed means for driving the top end roller todrive said belt, d''. said means for braking the belt against downhillmotion of the uphill run comprise ratchet brakes connected to amultiplicity of said slide rollers, e''. there are two of said tracks onopposite sides of the belt allowing a skiier to straddle the belt whilesitting on it with one ski in each track and they comprise synthetic,low friction mats with sufficient perforation to allow snow and/ordeposited snow accumulation to pass through, to keep the tracks clear ofsnow; and f''. said on-load and off-load means comprise an on-loadingski run at the bottom of the uphill run of the belt and an off-loadingski run at the top of the belt''s up-hill run, both being constructedand arranged so that life on-loading, riding and lift off-loading areall accomplished without requiring that the skiier make any turns orside-stepping maneuvers or stops, the apparatus including guide meansfor guiding the skiier and his skiis into straddle position inon-loading.